The City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) has received a £3m boost in funding to extend its work until 2017.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe, minister for Intellectual Property (IP), announced the funding at the Anti- Counterfeit Conference in London.
The unit was originally launched in September 2013. Since it was set up, PIPCU has seized more than £1.29m worth of suspected fake goods and diverted more than 5m visits from copyright infringing websites.
David Wood, BPI director of Copyright Protection, said: ‘The work of PIPCU to date has been invaluable in tackling piracy, which is recognised as a significant threat to musicians’ income, investment in new businesses and the growth of the UK’s creative economy.
‘This funding demonstrates the commitment of the UK government to promoting respect for intellectual property, which acts as the backbone of growth for our world-leading creative and digital media sectors.
‘Over the next two years, we hope that the combined efforts of the government, enforcement bodies and the voluntary measures undertaken by the creative sector - through Creative Content UK - will result in a step change in attitudes towards piracy and usage of legitimate channels for online content.’
Originally, the IPO supported PIPCU with £2.56m of funding over two years in back in September last year.
PIPCU is a 21-person team consisting of detectives, police staff investigators, analysts, researchers, an education officer and a communications officer.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe, minister for Intellectual Property (IP), announced the funding at the Anti- Counterfeit Conference in London.
The unit was originally launched in September 2013. Since it was set up, PIPCU has seized more than £1.29m worth of suspected fake goods and diverted more than 5m visits from copyright infringing websites.
David Wood, BPI director of Copyright Protection, said: ‘The work of PIPCU to date has been invaluable in tackling piracy, which is recognised as a significant threat to musicians’ income, investment in new businesses and the growth of the UK’s creative economy.
‘This funding demonstrates the commitment of the UK government to promoting respect for intellectual property, which acts as the backbone of growth for our world-leading creative and digital media sectors.
‘Over the next two years, we hope that the combined efforts of the government, enforcement bodies and the voluntary measures undertaken by the creative sector - through Creative Content UK - will result in a step change in attitudes towards piracy and usage of legitimate channels for online content.’
Originally, the IPO supported PIPCU with £2.56m of funding over two years in back in September last year.
PIPCU is a 21-person team consisting of detectives, police staff investigators, analysts, researchers, an education officer and a communications officer.
